Who she?Liz Earle is a skincare beauty specialist and author who, back in 1995 with her friend Kim Buckland, set up her eponymous line of skincare products. Originally launched on QVC, the brand has grown and grown – now with three shops around the country, outlets in selected John Lewis stores and employing a total of over 400 people.

Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint Photograph: Product shot

Why so successful?The ethos is all based around naturally active ingredients giving simple and fuss-free skincare. This is all very jolly as more of us are concerned about environmental impact and what have you but their range is pretty impressive. By far and away their most successful product is the Cleanse & Polish hot cloth cleanser (£13.25 for the 100ml starter kit) one of which sells every thirty seconds worldwide. It constantly wins award after award and our own Sali Hughes announced in a recent column that she can't live without it.

So what's new?Big things are going on as Liz Earle are about to enter uncharted territory. They'll be taking what they know about skincare (a lot) and channelling it into a new range of colour. Launching mid-September will be Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint (£21 for 40ml), a barely there tinted moisturiser with SPF 15 which gives a lovely light even coverage. The fact that this has been billed as Liz Earle's "first step" into colour suggests there's plenty more to come…